Another encouraging sign that Republicans are beating the pants off Democrats when it comes to the Blogging Revolution: Today about 70 House Republican staffers will hear from bloggers (including me) about what we do and how they can have an impact.
I’ve already written a few articles on the GOP’s embrace of bloggers, and I’ll probably have another to add to the list today.
- GOP Puts Faith in Alito Bloggers (Jan. 12, 2006)
- Blogger Revolution Is in Full Force (Feb. 1, 2006)
- The Blogging Trifecta (Feb. 13, 2006)
- Didn't Get Enough CPAC? Check Out These Blogs (Feb. 14, 2006)
The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call had this to say yesterday about the GOP’s blogging symposium:
In the 1990s, talk radio was crucial to disseminating the ideas of the Republican revolutionaries. Today, House GOP Conference Vice Chairman Jack Kingston (Ga.) believes that the blogosphere is poised to become the next big thing in the GOP communication machine’s armada.
“If you look at what blogs have impacted, from the Swift Boat situation to the Dan Rather retirement, they are very effective,” Kingston said. In the past three years, 100,000 Web logs have grown into 29 million, according to Kingston.
With that in mind, Kingston’s “Theme Team,” a group of 85 Members responsible for helping articulate the House Republican message, is convening a workshop on the blogosphere in Rayburn 2175 (the Education and the Workforce Committee room) at 10 a.m. Friday.
The seminar - covering everything from “What is a blog?” to strategies for pitching stories and ideas to bloggers - will feature discussions with bloggers from such conservative sites as TownHall.com and Human Events Online.
Here’s the agenda for today’s discussion, which is closed to the press:
I. Introductions//Welcome
II. What is a blog? Why are blogs important? Current trends. Q and A.
Panelists:
- Danny Glover, National Journal’s Beltway Blogroll, Tech Daily
- Marc Ambinder, Hotline Editor, Hotline On-Call blog
III. Who are bloggers? What do they do? Q and A.
Panelists:
- Ed Morrissey, Captain’s Quarters (via video conference)
- Ben Domenech, RedState.com
- Tim Chapman, TownHall.com Capitol Report
- Robert Bluey, Editor, Human Events Online
- Mary Katharine Ham, HughHewitt.com
- Philip Pidot, Suitably Flip
IV. SPECIAL GUEST: Stephen Colbert
V. Best Practices Session. Q and A.
Panelists:
- Ken Spain, Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas)
- Brad Dayspring, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)
- Michael Steel, Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ)
- Ryan Loskarn, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
- Patrick Ruffini, RNC eCampaign Director
Check back later for the full report.
